IT DIDN’T take long for the goodwill to wear off.
We’re less than a week into the New Year and all we are hearing is more bad news.
Mind you, if the government believes it is going to get everything its own way, it should be mindful of what happened when the previous administration tried to get rid of the medical card for some over-70s.
But I am talking about the latest news to break – the fact that some old age pensioners may actually be tax defaulters.
This week, more than 115,000 notices were sent out to make people aware that they might owe some money to the taxman if they are in receipt of a private pension.
It would appear that one government department never spoke to another when it came to calculating pensions or taxes that should have been collected.
You would think that the Department of Social Protection would have given the relevant information to the Revenue Commissioners.
But that does not appear to have been the case.
And some people may have fallen out of one category and into another, thereby creating tax implications for themselves.
Anyway, the taxman now wants all matters regularised, which could mean some people ending up better off as a result of this latest audit, while others may owe a few bob.
Mind you, with the way pensions have performed over the past few years, and the small amounts of money people actually invest in them, that seems unlikely.
However, the problem now exists and will have to be resolved somehow.
But in solving that problem, the government would be advised to remember the demonstrations that took place when the previous coalition tried to reform the medical card scheme.
The silver army took to the streets in anger, leaving politicians in no doubt that they were in for a mauling if they did not relent.
But relent they did. And who could blame them?
After all, this ever-growing sector of the electorate has time on its hands to make life difficult for the local politician; and when it is all said and done, all politics is local, irrespective of whatever anyone says.
It may be a few years away, but when the next general election is called, the pensioners will not forget. But if that wasn’t bad enough, another levy was put on health insurance.
This could well be the tipping point that forces even more people into giving up their private health insurance, which has the knock-on effect of putting more pressure on an already-creaking infrastructure.
Risk equalisation is a good thing – no doubt about that – but further changes in the fees paid to surgeons and hospitals must also be examined.
There is no point in lumping on extra charges to the already hardpressed policyholder if no effort is made to reduce hospital costs, fees and a whole range of other charges.
I couldn’t help but smile when health minister James Reilly remarked that some of our consultants earn far too much money.
I smiled because, in another life, it was Dr Reilly who negotiated such lucrative financial packages for former colleagues.
That said, I believe he is correct in his findings, especially when you see the fees some consultants earn from the health providers.
Minister Reilly remarked that logic would say if any individual – no matter how good or how skilled – could make €1 million from the VHI alone in one year, then we are paying them too much.
Logic is great. And yes, any right-thinking person would agree, but where have we seen logic being applied in the past?
Our politicians, including the current government, have shown time and time again that logic has nothing to do with making the right decision, and irrespective of whatever they say prior to a general election, they will always find some means of changing the interpretation or simply doing what they want.
It may be a New Year but, over the coming months, we will all find that not much has really changed.